Problemer med at afspille Pocket Pairs

Pocket par kan give de højeste pay-offs i No Limit Holdem. Statistisk er du foran næsten hver hånd i spillet preflop. Unfortunately however, playing pocket pairs is one of the hardest things to master in poker. And one of the most popular hands that lands players in big trouble.

Hvorfor spiller Pocket Pairs farlige?

Dit mål, når man spiller små pocket pairs, om du i cashgames, turneringer (MTT-strategi) eller SNGs, is to catch a set on the flop. Catching a set on the flop pays off extremely well because it’s a monster hand none of your opponents will be able to read. You can lay out traps on the board hoping your opponent’s hit top pair or is on a draw. Faktisk, at ramme et sæt på floppet med pocket par giver så høje værdi, at mange spillere generaladvokat ringer til 6xBB med små lommer.

Problemet her er, at du kun har en 12% chance of hitting that set. Som sådan, many new/inexperienced players find themselves exposed in pots. They don’t know whether they still have the best hand, eller er slået af nogen af overkort. My advice to avoid this situation is to always lead out on the flop; men opkald du modtager eller igen rejser derefter du bør insta-fold.

The same problem can be said for high pockets like JJ or QQ with overcards on the flop. Many players will call to the river hoping to make their set. Looking at the maths though, du har kun to outs for sådan en situation, giver du bare en 8% chance of hitting a set by showdown. You can see here that being able to read your opponent is crucial to avoiding problems with pockets.

Største Problem med Pocket Pairs – et tegnebord

This is the most dangerous situation for pocket pairs in my opinion. It presents a massive problem because even if you lead out on the flop after raising preflop; there are so many draws available that players with a wide range of hands could call for value. This means you’ll be in a situation getting called by players and you still don’t know if you’re ahead or behind. Your options are either to keep betting out assuming they’re on a draw (normal puljestørrelse bet - i så fald vil du ende med at risikere mest din stak); eller du kan blot tjekke bestyrelsen håber at fange et sæt, som også giver dine modstandere gratis kort plus giver dig forfærdelig reverse stiltiende odds at kende selv om du fange din sæt du kan blive slået af en straight eller flush.

For eksempel: You hold KsKh and raise 4xBB with two callers. Flop brings AsKdQs. If you lead out and get called, du er oppe imod enhver række hænder med god værdi for kald. Enhver to Spar, enhver Jørgensen, enhver A eller endda AK, AQ eller QK.

What I recommend in this situation is an overbet. You likely hold the best hand on the flop, and any straight is very likely to re-raise you in order to prevent players on a flushdraw. If you get called again and no danger card comes up, go all in. This will give you great value if you get called. If you only min raise or pot bet, er du finde dig selv i en farlig blindgyde – især i en 3 way pot. You’ll have outs, men ikke nok til at vil risikere din hele stakken på en farlig bestyrelse.

1 kommentar on “Problems Playing Pocket Pairs”

Playing small pockets also includes being able to put your opponent on a hand. I don’t mind seeing a cheap flop with 6-6 and know I can get away from it, with several opponents if I don’t connect with the flop, but against a single opponent that raised 3x mid. and you call from the BB with 6-6, your probably ahead with a flop like 8-5-2, but he will most likely call with a good A. I will still small ball, but a reraise might tell you he has better pockets, or just doesn’t want to get pushed holding A-K. It’s best to have a read on the style of your opponent and betting habits. Men, by keeping it small you can usually call a min reraise, and see the next card. With small pairs knowing how to proceed and when to get away is crucial. Unless you know an opponent will check behind you on the turn and see another card, if say a J comes out, and he misses, betting gives info. checking leaves you in the dark and gives him a chance to steal it. Also if he is reading you, c-betting the J after just calling pre-flop, he knows that is in your range of the pre flop call. If he’s holding A-K, A-Q, or any pair below J-J, he’s not felling good about his hand right now and may just give it up.